Currently, the IAF’s non-stealth fighter jets have largely stopped entering Syrian airspace in favor of firing air-to-ground missiles and guided bombs against targets in Syria over the Mediterranean, Lebanon, and the Golan Heights, and even then, once these Israeli fighter jets are attacked by Syrian air defenses, such as the long-range S-200 air defense system, the IAF still launches missile attacks on the Syrian air defense positions, relieving them of the threat to Israeli fighters (the exception being the Syrian S-300, which has never fired since its acquisition and naturally has not been attacked).
The only exception is the F-35I stealth fighters, currently, the Israeli Air Force has formed two squadrons of F-35I fighters, the Israeli Air Force with F-35I fighters airstrikes deep into Syria, especially Iranian bases near the Iraqi border, and even had a mission deep into Iraqi airspace, unconfirmed information suggests that the Israeli Air Force F-35I fighters may even be in Saudi Arabia After landing midway to refuel, they tested Iran’s air defenses deep into Iranian airspace, operating covertly in places like Tehran and Shiraz without triggering the Iranian air defense network.
With stealth performance, the Israeli Air Force’s F-35I fighter jets were able to repeatedly destroy deep-seated targets in Syria, and the Iranian bases that were attacked did not understand what had happened until the bombs landed and exploded, and the Syrian air defense forces protecting the Iranian bases were able to fire missiles indiscriminately, despite frequent announcements from Syria and Russia of “suspected injuries to F-35 stealth fighters “, but there is no actual evidence to support the so-called wreckage is nothing more than the propellers of the Syrian S-200 air defense missiles, such suspicious news has become increasingly rare.
Recently, an Israeli F-35I stealth fighter operating over Lebanon was photographed, and although the image is not very clear due to altitude issues, the F-35I stealth fighter can be seen with a U.S.-made AIM-9X “Rattlesnake” close-in air-to-air missile mounted on a wingtip mount against the backdrop of a clear sky. Obviously, this will seriously damage the F-35 fighter’s stealth performance, it is not clear why the Israeli Air Force to do so, you know, the F-35I can carry the AIM-9X “Rattlesnake” in two side bomb bay, is the Israeli Air Force confident that this will not threaten the F-35I combat effectiveness? Is the Israeli Air Force so confident that this would not threaten the combat effectiveness of the F-35I?
One speculation is that the F-35I was probably spotted on purpose, probably to deter certain adversaries, because in addition to the stealth-busting external Rattlesnake missile, the F-35I was flying at a limited altitude, and even its visible contrail could be seen (one could argue that its paint job was very effective in visual stealth). But because the picture is so blurry, it is difficult to tell whether it is fitted with a Longbottom lens that increases the launch area, and given the recent changes in the Middle East, it is very likely that Israel is deterring its opponents.
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